Séries 3 - Case histories

This series consists of patient case files illustrating various surgical problems and techniques, medical conditions and treatments. The materials in this series have been arranged into 20 sub-series, each dedicated to a specific medical or surgical subject:

0094-3-1 Case Histories - Ventriculomytomy
0094-3-2 Case Histories - Aorto-Coronary Bypass
0094-3-3 Case Histories - Hypothermia
0094-3-4 Case Histories - Auricular/Atrial Septal Defect
0094-3-5 Case Histories - Mitral Valvoplasty
0094-3-6 Case Histories - Aortic Valves Homograft
0094-3-7 Case Histories - Aortic Bicuspidization
0094-3-8 Case Histories - Coarctation of Aorta
0094-3-9 Case Histories - Mitral Annuloplasty
0094-3-10 Case Histories - Mitral Commissurotomy
0094-3-11 Case Histories - Tricuspid Annuloplasty
0094-3-12 Case Histories - Pacemaker Insertion
0094-3-13 Case Histories - Pericardiectomy
0094-3-14 Case Histories - Aorto-Iliac Arterial Graft
0094-3-15 Case Histories - Atrial Myxoma
0094-3-16 Case Histories - Sinus of Valsalva
0094-3-17 Case Histories - Aortic Valvoplasty
0094-3-18 Case Histories - Abdominal (Aortic) Aneurysm
0094-3-19 Case Histories - Combined Aorto-Coronary Bypass/Internal Mammary Artery Implant
0094-3-20 Case Histories - Internal Mammary Artery Implant

Case history files typically contain standard medical documents including operation records, consultation records, autopsy reports, clinical histories, discharge summary reports, cardiovascular rounds reports, pathology reports, radiology reports, heart catheterization reports, angiograms, and electrocardiograms. The files also contain correspondence between Dr. Bigelow and medical colleagues and/or patients, and documents relating to patients' medical insurance and bills for service.

The materials in this series document developments in the medical and surgical treatment of specific cardiovascular defects and provide evidence of Dr. Bigelow's contributions to the innovation and development of such treatments.

Although most of the surgical procedures documented in this series were first performed predominantly on public ward patients, the files comprising this series are nearly exclusively those of Dr. Bigelow's private patients, whose medical records he was responsible for maintaining. Case files for public ward patients were maintained by the Toronto General Hospital's Department of Medical Records, and files compiled prior to 1980 have largely been destroyed.